The Plastic Free Lunchbox Project

$8,680

Successfully funded on Aug 10, 2018

119 supporters

About This Project

Who we are

Plasticwise Taroona is a volunteer run community organisation dedicated to reducing the amount of plastic waste ending up in our oceans and landfills. We love inspiring and encouraging everyone in our community to join us, and be part of the solution to plastic pollution!

You may have already heard about our community bag project, where we worked with the Hill Street Grocer to go plastic bag free. Over the last year, our wonderful volunteers have made over 1100 reusable cloth bags out of recycled material to stock community bag libraries around Tasmania. This project alone has saved over 685,000 plastic bags from ending up in landfill and our oceans so far, connected over 200 like-minded people to each other and started conversations with industry and the business community about reducing waste.

Our project

The Plastic Free Lunchbox Project involves educational school workshops that are inspiring and empowering a generation of Tasmanian children to tackle plastic pollution at the source, and to reduce waste and litter in their playground, school community and beyond.

Our workshops inform children about the environmental harm caused by single use plastics, and guide them to focus on solutions that address plastic pollution at the source. Things like refusing plastic items where possible, dreaming up alternatives to plastic and reusing what we already have rather than buying new things.

At the workshops, children also make their own beeswax wrap to use for their sandwich or snacks at school. Beeswax wraps are a reusable and sustainable alternative to plastic cling wrap and zip lock bags, which are some of the most common and avoidable plastic items littering school grounds and nearby beaches across Tasmania (and everywhere else!).

Beeswax wraps can last for years, can be recoated in wax if they are damaged, and can be composted when they reach the end of their life.

We have already run workshops with over 300 local pre school and primary school students, who are now using their wraps in their lunches every day. We've also had great feedback from students, parents and teachers, and we want to spread the love as far as possible!

Since we launched this project we've had requests from almost 20 more schools to run our educational beeswax wrap making workshops with them, and we'd love you to support us to expand this program and reach more kids!

Why It Matters

Recent studies estimate that if we don't reduce the amount of plastic that we use and throw 'away', there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050 (by weight). This is equivalent to four garbage trucks of plastic entering the ocean every minute.

We believe that small decisions that we all make everyday can contribute to creating a healthier ocean. We also believe that children are the key to creating lasting change in our communities, and we want to continue to inspire and empower more and more of them to get involved!

How You Can Help

We need your support to expand this project and build our team to keep up with demand!

By contributing to our Plastic Free Lunchbox Project and spreading the word with your family, friends and work colleagues, you are helping us to inspire and empower more and more children to create change in their school communities, to tackle plastic pollution and to reduce waste and litter.

This is also a great opportunity for you to support a local community project that is making a meaningful contribution towards reducing plastic pollution in our oceans. We'd love you to join us and be part of this exciting movement!

Email us at [email protected] to be included on our mailing list and keep up to date with our future projects, and check out our Facebook page to join our growing community!

Use Of Funds

$5,000 Tipping Point Goal

We want to buy some simple equipment to make our own beeswax blend as easily and cheaply as possible, and to help us run safe and efficient school workshops. We want to buy ingredients in bulk to keep costs down. Finally, with any money left over, we want to train and employ a local team of legends to run these wonderful workshops with our kids.

$800 on beeswax wrap making equipment.

$2000 on buying bulk ingredients to make our beeswax blend and purchasing good quality, clean, second hand fabric to make the wraps (please feel free to get in touch if you have any clean 100% cotton fabric that you would be happy to donate to this project - it will be put to good use, we promise!)

$700 on training our volunteers to run engaging and informative education sessions on the solutions to plastic pollution.

$1500+ will subsidise the cost of running the beeswax wrap workshops with over 1000 kids in Tasmanian public schools. The more money we raise, the more kids we can reach!

$10,000 Stretch Goal

Anything raised on top of the Funding Goal will subsidise the cost of running more beeswax wrap workshops at more schools, meaning we can inspire and empower more kids to get involved!

Rewards

Money Honey!

$10.00

Thank you! Your contribution has paid for one student to participate in our inspiring workshop, learn about the impacts of single use plastics on our environment and make their own beeswax wrap!

Unlimited

Select Reward

The Wrap

$25.00

We'll send you one of our medium handmade beeswax wraps, the perfect sized wrap for a sandwich or snacks!

Local pickup or postage within Australia included!

68 left

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The Bag

$25.00

We'll send you one of our special edition reusable cloth bags! Handmade by our wonderful volunteers in Taroona, Tasmania.

Local pickup or postage within Australia included!

42 left

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The Produce Bags

$30.00

We'll send you a set of three calico produce bags for putting your fruit and veggies in! The produce bags are three different sizes (small, medium and large), and all have a draw string built in!

Local pickup or postage within Australia included!

12 left

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The Wrap Set

$45.00

We'll send you a set of three beeswax wraps handmade made by our volunteers in Taroona (a small, medium and a large).

Local pickup or postage within Australia included!

72 left

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The Wrap'nBag

$75.00

We'll send you one of our special edition handmade reusable cloth bags and a set of three handmade beeswax wraps (a small, medium and a large).

Local pickup or postage within Australia included!

30 left

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The Taroona Massage

$75.00

Come along to Taroona and have a half hour massage with the local legends at Restore Remedial & Relaxation Therapies (who are donating their time to this project!)!

No postage possible on this one, sorry!

Sold Out

The Starter Kit

$100.00

We'll send you a starter kit for your plastic free future!

The kit includes one of our special edition handmade reusable cloth bags, a handmade produce bag, a set of three beeswax wraps (a small, medium and a large), and a truly beautiful hand knitted dishcloth - everything handmade by our wonderful volunteers in Taroona!

Local pickup or postage within Australia included!

Sold Out

The Kick and Screen

$200.00

We'll give you and a friend a two hour introduction to screen printing course, with a local legend at the Kick and Screen printing studio in Kingston Beach! you will be able to make or bring along your own design, put it onto a screen and print away on some t-shirts or tea towels or whatever you like!

No postage available on this one, sorry!

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The School Workshop

$300.00

We'll run a one hour beeswax wrap making workshop with a school group of your choice!

Flexible, but can be run with around 25 children making one large wrap each!

Includes publicity on social media if desired. Workshop must be located in Greater Hobart Region!

Unlimited

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The Wrap Party!

$400.00

It's a PARTY! Pick 9 friends (or work colleagues) and we'll come to you and run a two hour beeswax wrap making workshop with you all! This workshop will cover all of the steps involved in making beautiful beeswax wraps (including sourcing ingredients, ratios, brush care, blending, and making!). Every attendee will also receive a plastic free care package (including a combination of reusable bags, bamboo toothbrushes, wraps and other surprise items TBC).

Flexible, but can be run with up to 10 people, making around two large wraps each.

Includes publicity on social media if desired. Workshop must be located in Greater Hobart Region!

Unlimited

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The Ultimate Wrap Party!

$550.00

The Wrap Party, plus every person attending gets a premium plastic free care package and a block of our special blend of pre-mixed wax to take home! Each one of our blocks makes between 3-6 beautiful beeswax wraps!

Includes publicity on social media if desired. Workshop must be located in Greater Hobart Region!

Unlimited

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The Big Money Honey

$1,000.00

Thank you! Your contribution has allowed us to run workshops with around 100 Tasmanian school students!

We will run an Ultimate Wrap Party for you or two School Workshops in your name and you will have a permanent invitation to attend our special bag making workshops as a celebrity guest! We will also shower you with gratitude and bags and beeswax wraps - as many as you can fit in your arms.